Should we go to Denali in May or should we go somewhere?

We will end our cruise in Whitter on May 23 and plan to take the Prince William Sound Cruise. We will spent that night in Anchorage. We will have about 4 days to spent in Alaska. Our flight will leave ANC on May 27 at 3.00pm

Our original plan is to go to Denali and spent 2 nights there but I read that we can only go so far because it is still early in the season and Denali in May can be disappointed.

My question is should we still go to Denali? If not where should we spent our 4 days seeing Alaska.

We are party of 5 and 3 of us may never get a chance to come back to Alaska again. We will rent a car and we have GPS system. I just want to have the most valuable expereince in Alaska.

I%26#39;m open for any suggestion.

Should we go to Denali in May or should we go somewhere?

';Our original plan is to go to Denali and spent 2 nights there but I read that we can only go so far because it is still early in the season and Denali in May can be disappointed.';

Stick with your original plan. You can%26#39;t go as far into the park as you could in June, but we%26#39;ve been told by the locals that in May the animals tend to be closer to the entrance anyway. And you can go in August and still be disappointed (I know, I did!). No guarantees for anyone, anytime. Denali isn%26#39;t a drive-through zoo, the animals go where they want, when they want.

Your choices would be the 6 hour park shuttle to Toklat or the 6 to 8 hour Tundra Wilderness tour. More info: www.reservedenali.com .

And you don%26#39;t need a GPS in Alaska. Pretty hard to get lost when there is only one road between towns, lol. Rental cars normally are not permitted on unpaved roads, so you have to stick to the main roads anyway.

Since some of you might not get the chance to go back to Alaska, this would cover the most activities:

May 23 鈥?end cruise. PWS day cruise. 6:45 pm train to Anchorage, arrives 9:15 pm. Overnight Anchorage.

May 24 鈥?pick up rental car (off-airport is often less expensive, be sure to compare options. A site I find helpful for that is www.carrentals.com). You can store your excess luggage either at your hotel/B%26amp;B (ask before booking), or else for a fee at the airport, so maybe separate it the night before. Not likely you鈥檒l have enough room in your vehicle to take it all with you.

Stop at the weekend Market (opens 10 a.m., http://www.anchoragemarkets.com/main.html ) to look around for unusual souvenirs, maybe pick up some snacks. Also pick up supplies for Denali either in Anchorage, Eagle River or Wasilla, since after that pickings are slim and expensive. Drive to Denali (5 hrs), stopping at Talkeetna for flightseeing if desired. At Denali, see the visitor center displays and film, then drive the 14 miles into the park that cars are allowed to see if you can spot any wildlife. Maybe dinner theatre (http://alaska.org/denali/cabin-nite.jsp ) Overnight Healy, which is 15 min. north of the park, much cheaper than the entrance-area hotels, good selection of hotels %26amp; B%26amp;B鈥檚.

May 25 鈥?Morning: shuttle to Toklat. If you have any plans to hike, you can get off when you want, then catch another to resume your trip. Be sure to take food %26amp; drink with you, plus binoculars for everyone. Afternoon: either whitewater rafting or see the free sled dog demo (I believe both 2 %26amp; 4 pm, should be running by then, check before you leave on your trip). Late afternoon/early evening: drive to Fairbanks (2 hrs) to overnight.

May 26 鈥?8:45 a.m. to 12:15 pm: Riverboat Discovery. Lunch, then either U. of Alaska Museum of the North or 2:30 pm tour at Gold Dredge No. 8. Even if you don鈥檛 do the latter, drive 8 mi. north of Fairbanks to stop to view the Pipeline %26amp; display. Late afternoon: drive back to around Talkeetna (4.5 hrs) to overnight.

May 27 鈥?Drive back to Anchorage (3 hrs). If time, see Earthquake Park on your way to the airport, or stop to watch the floatplanes landing on Lake Hood (beside the airport). Return car, be at airport about 1 pm for 3 pm flight home.

If that trip is too busy (or if the 3 who likely won鈥檛 get back to Alaska don鈥檛 care about seeing Fairbanks), just cut out Fairbanks and either

(a) spend the extra time in Denali (hiking, a second shuttle into the park), or

(b) drive back to Talkeetna on the 26th for either flightseeing, river raft, jetboat, sled dog tour.

(c) drive back to Anchorage on the 26th to see the Native Heritage Center (open until 5 pm) or drive the very scenic route about 1 hr. south of Anchorage to see Wildlife Conservation Center (open until 8 pm).

Oodles of choices. Those are just a few of them. I hope this gives you a few ideas.

Should we go to Denali in May or should we go somewhere?

I suggest you get a Frommer%26#39;s and/or Fodor%26#39;s book on Alaska and so some reading about all of your options. We all have different interests. It is best to research and then you are bound to find some places that really appeal to you. Alaska has much to offer. If Denali is a priority for you, you can get as far as Toklat in your timeframe. Although not ideal, I would consider it worthwhile if this will be your only opportunity to get to Denali. I did some searches on this forum and many recommend the shuttle to Toklat in your timeframe. Per the website:

TOKLAT

A popular destination due to shorter bus trip duration. Excellent hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities, this rest stop is located at the confluence of the east and west forks of the Toklat River, with great views of the surrounding mountains across the river.

Interpretive displays and an array of Alaska Geographic Association publications are available in the large tent located here.

Turnaround: Toklat River rest stop, Mile 53

Trip duration: 6.5 hours

Service: May 20* 鈥?September 17, 2009

If you decide you don%26#39;t want to head to Denali, Seward would be a great option after Whittier. Then head to Anchorage.

I%26#39;m one of the locals who loves Denali in late May. The buses have just started running so the wildlife has not be scared away yet. The deep snows further out often keep wildlife closer to the entrance. Plus, there are not as many tourists %26amp; the buses aren%26#39;t as crowded. It can still be chilly in May, so bring lots of warm layers.

I am planning on being at Denali the first day the shuttle buses start - May 20th. I am looking forward to it. Just be sure you have a bus schedule with you since there are not as many shuttles that time of year and they start later (8am I think) and end earlier in the day. If you take the 8am shuttle you will still have plenty of time to get off the bus to hike. I would suggest going all the way to Toklat and getting off either there or on the way back.

John

May is still great in Denali. You could also look at flightseeing around the mountain - there are usually discounts on the trips that early in the season.

There%26#39;s also horse trekking in the area which might be up and running by then.

It all depends what you are into.

I enjoy Denali in May also, like some of the other posters. Since we are local - we just stop by whenever we%26#39;ve been driving to Fairbanks and see what we can see. I don%26#39;t think there has been any time I%26#39;ve been disappointed that I%26#39;ve stopped!

The visitors centers and Science %26amp; Learning Center is great. Also make a jaunt to walk over from the dog sled kennels! We always enjoy seeing the dogs!

https:/鈥ennels.htm

The one thing about being here that early - is if there is something about the weather you don%26#39;t like (I can%26#39;t see what it would be at that date), or you have a change of heart - you can always modify your itinerary that night you are in Anchorage.

Denali will be easy to find - one road - about a 4 hour drive. :-)

Spending time in Anchorage is awesome too! Check out more about Anchorage, or order the Anchorage book online:

http://www.anchorage.net/

To the right on the home page - there are also some May deals for lodging at Denali.

I will be in Denali for two nights mid June.

I have checked the Toklat shuttle and there only seem to be three running June 14th,How long is the turnaround time at Toklat and if we decide to stay longer will it be easy to pick up another shuttle back?Hope you don%26#39;t mind me asking on this thread instead of starting another.

Thankyou

JoHoo

Johoo.... I would not take the Tolklat shuttle if I were you. At your time in June you can go to Wonder Lake or at least to Eielson.

I wonder what happened to the original poster?

Denalicat...Thankyou for your reply will probably go to Eielson.We just thought it may be too long a trip.

Would you take an early shuttle?If so what time would you recommend.

Johoo